


Then They Had Their Second Kiss

by MatchaBlossom (0p3n_F0r_Di5cu55i0n)



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Awkward Date, Bickering, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Kaoru is stubborn, M/M, Second Kiss, Valentine's Day, yes carla is a character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:15:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29471568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0p3n_F0r_Di5cu55i0n/pseuds/MatchaBlossom
Summary: “Be my valentine.”Cherry remembered it very clearly. The condition of their last beef. The beef that he had lost. So now he was trapped with that overgrown gorilla on valentines day, it wasn’t like Kaoru had anything to do that day but he was pretty sure that Kojiro must have some blond headed bimbo to take out.“I’ll text you the details,” Joe had said with a wink that had several of their fans squealing. Cherry had glared at him with all the intensity in the world. Joe knew how much Cherry hated their personal lives leaking into their skating lives so he had been pissed off to say the least. Then days had passed without a word from the other and Kaoru thought he had escaped Kojiro’s plan until he eventually got a text from him.Joe: Can I pick you up at seven tomorrow?Cherry: Do I have a choice?Joe: No <3Cherry: assholeJoe: So I take it that five works?Cherry: yeah
Relationships: Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Comments: 4
Kudos: 319





	Then They Had Their Second Kiss

“Be my valentine.” 

Cherry remembered it very clearly. The condition of their last beef. The beef that he had lost. So now he was trapped with that overgrown gorilla on valentines day, it wasn’t like Kaoru had anything to do that day but he was pretty sure that Kojiro must have some blond headed bimbo to take out. 

“I’ll text you the details,” Joe had said with a wink that had several of their fans squealing. Cherry had glared at him with all the intensity in the world. Joe knew how much Cherry hated their personal lives leaking into their skating lives so he had been pissed off to say the least. Then days had passed without a word from the other and Kaoru thought he had escaped Kojiro’s plan until he eventually got a text from him. 

Joe: Can I pick you up at seven tomorrow?

Cherry: Do I have a choice? 

Joe: No <3

Cherry: asshole 

Joe: So I take it that five works?

Cherry: yeah

Cherry rolled his eyes and set his phone down. He wasn’t even sure what to wear but he supposed his closet didn’t contain much else aside from traditional and his skating outfit. Cherry supposed it didn’t really matter and that Joe would be an idiot not to know the extent of his wardrobe. If he wanted something specific then he would say something. He shouldn’t care so much anyway, Joe was probably just planning something stupid to make a fool of them both. Idiot. 

The next day Cherry had gotten himself ready but not even fifteen minutes before he was supposed to be picked up he got another text.

Joe: Make sure to bring your board!

Cherry resisted the urge to cuss out the overgrown gorilla for not saying anything until now and instead he went to get changed once more into his other clothes that were more comfortable for skating, grumbling the entire time about how Joe should have mentioned something yesterday. The real question was why had Cherry expected anything other than skating? it wasn’t like they did much else outside of skating and arguing. It wasn’t that he couldn’t skate in a kimono, he could skate perfectly fine- but his geta were somewhat uncomfortable to skate in. Instead he switched out his kimono for gray hakama and a teal kimono top, not wanting to look exactly like his skating persona even if he had come to learn that it was incredibly easy to recognize him no matter what he wore. He braided his hair so it went down his shoulder and put on the boots he normally wears when he skated. They were still comfortable and easier to skate in then his geta. 

He put his gloves and a few other things in a bag that he slung over his shoulder as he waited. 

6:50… 6:55… 7:00… 7:01 

He was late, of course he was late. That was just like him. He had nearly been late for their beef. 

Joe: I’m here

Cherry received the text at 7:05. Of course Joe couldn’t even bother to come to the door. This was going to be such a waste of time. Cherry left his house and put Carla in the back seat before getting in the front. 

“You're late,” Cherry said and looked over to him. 

“Yeah, sorry valentine's day is a busy day for the restaurant and I wanted to make sure everything ran smoothly and then one of my staff fussed over my hair and it was just-” Joe was rambling and Cherry had stopped listening. He glanced over to the other and noticed the way his hair was slicked back and Cherry couldn’t help but laugh, how could he have not noticed that immediately? 

“You look ridiculous,” Cherry muttered and tried to stifle his laughter. 

“Oh shut it- the braid looks ridiculous!” Joe shot back defensively but began to mess up his hair a bit with one hand so that it looked a little more normal. 

“Well I happen to like the braid and it looks more refined than you slicking your hair back like some middle school boy, looks like something Reki would be forced into on a school photo day,” Cherry said and contained his laughter eventually. 

“So you made an effort to look nice for me?” Joe asked. 

“As if, unlike you I just have standards for my appearance.” This sparked more arguing and remarks the entire drive. Bouncing from their appearances to making fun of how they dressed when at S. 

“You seriously wear traditional clothes both inside and outside of S and expect no one to recognize you? Of course people are going to recognize you! Not a lot of people have pink hair,” Joe rolled his eyes as he spoke. 

“Not being recognized isn't the point! Besides at least I actually wear clothes! How is wearing a jacket incorrectly going to benefit your skating? If anything it is a hindrance!” 

“Well I still beat you didnt I? Unless you just let me win,” Joe teased. 

“You have some ego, thinking I want to waste my night with a man who replaced his brains with muscles,” Cherry grumbled. That seemed to end their arguing, but only because Joe parked his car. 

“Alright, we are almost there, get out and grab your board,” Joe hummed and turned off his car before getting out. 

Cherry followed him out and grabbed his board before quickly realizing that Joel had parked at the bottom of a fairly large hill. 

“We couldn’t drive over it?” Cherry asked but didn’t complain too much even if he was certain he had every right to. He could be… he tried to think of what else he would be doing if Joe hadn’t disturbed his night but all he could picture was him stopping in the restaurant and sitting down to eat Joe’s food and chat with him after closing. He tried to tell himself that he wouldn’t have done that, but stops at Joe’s restaurant were more frequent then he cared to admit. After nearly every trip to S they stopped at the restaurant. 

“Oh a small walk won’t be the end of the world Cherry,” Joe teased and grabbed a bag to sling over his shoulder before getting his board and beginning to make his way up the hill. “Don’t tell me you are too delicate for a walk,” Joe teased, which had Cherry hurrying after him.

“I am not delicate, just because I don’t look like a gorilla doesn’t mean I am suddenly delicate,” he grumbled and followed him up. He expected both of them to immediately hop on their board when they got to the top of the hill but when Joe didn’t Cherry refrained from taking off without him. 

“So how many girls have you brought up here? My guess is at least seven,” Cherry mentioned. 

“Really? No I haven’t brought anyone up here, I usually take girls to restaurants if I’m looking to go out on a date at all with any of them,” he mentioned which was probably the wrong move considering this was technically a date. Joe was sure that despite Cherry’s jab he almost certainly didn’t want to hear about what he did with girls. “What I mean is that I have something better planned for you,” he managed to say before Cherry could speak. 

“I’m sure you do,” Cherry said sarcastically as he continued walking along. The electronics in his board made it heavy but he didn’t complain. Instead just continuing along beside Joe as they fell into silence. Off the top of his head he could think about ten better date ideas and if it was strictly between the two of them then within the top five was them actually being on their boards instead of carrying them around like idiots. Eventually they got to the top of what was probably the third hill, a small one by a lake. It was nice enough out and the spot didn’t look too bad. Cherry could hear the soft chirping of bugs and it was oddly comforting as Joe pulled a blanket out from his bag and set it down. 

“Take a seat?” Joe offered and set his board down to the side so it was out of the way. Cherry sighed softly and hesitated before setting his board down in the damp grass and beside Joe’s and sitting down on the blanket and Joe sat next to him. 

“Sitting by a lake?” Cherry asked with less bite than normal. He didn’t mind this as much as he thought he would despite having expected an activity that would fill the silence and contain their bickering. 

“Just for awhile, is that alright?” Joe asked and tilted his head to look over at the other, despite how calm he looked perhaps Cherry was sensing a bit of nervousness behind those eyes of his. He decided to play nice for now considering he already knew how their banter worked and one of them getting actually upset wasn’t a part of it. 

“Yeah this is fine Joe,” Cherry breathed. They sat there for a while, not talking much at first, instead just looking at the stars until Joe asked him if he knew any constellations, and Joe already knew the answer to that so Cherry began to point them out. 

“That one is literally just two stars! I don’t think it can actually mean anything. Are you sure you know what you are talking about Cherry?” Joe asked although maybe he wasn’t even looking in the right area. 

“Yes I am positive, but I won’t bore you with a lesson on constellation names.” Cherry was pretty sure Joe would fall asleep within five minutes of him talking if he started talking about the history behind constellation names. Cherry tried to point out the “less boring” ones but either Joe couldn’t see them or he was confused about how they could mean anything. Eventually Joe produced a thermos from his bag and carefully shook it. 

“Want some tea?” He asked. 

“I’m surprised it isn’t alcohol,” Cherry shot back and chuckled softly. 

“If I didn’t have to drive then it would be,” he said and poured some in the lid that acted as a cup for Cherry and offered it to him. Cherry carefully took it and sipped at it carefully before letting out a soft sigh as he relaxed. 

“Why did you make this the condition of our beef Kojiro? You probably already had a line a mile long and this seems like a lot of effort to annoy me,” Cherry muttered. 

“Well Kaoru maybe annoying you wasn’t my intention?” Joe suggested. 

“Well then what is your intention?” Cherry asked and rolled his eyes. He glanced over to Joe when he didn’t get a reply and Joe looked at him like he was stupid. “Don’t look at me like that you gorilla,” Cherry grumbled. 

“Can’t help it four eyes, especially when you are being stupider than me,” Joe teased and laid back on the blanket. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Cherry scoffed and looked back up to the sky. He didn’t get a response but he figured Joe was just being dumb. Cherry quietly drank his tea even as small breezes came by in the night and he shivered a bit. 

“Are you cold?” 

“I wouldn’t be if you had told me that we would be spending all of our time outside,” Cherry muttered and just like that Joe’s jacket was placed over his shoulders. “I’m not some girl from S, a jacket over the shoulders isn’t going to flatter me Joe.” 

“It isn’t supposed to you idiot, it’s supposed to keep you warm,” Joe responded with a small laugh. “Cherry I am already well aware that my normal flirting would never work on you,” he teased. Cherry finished his tea and gave the cup back to Joe before keeping the jacket around himself since it did keep him warm. It smelt strongly of Joe’s cologne and he was certain that this was only a fraction of what a hug from the other man felt like. They hadn’t properly hugged in a very long time, which was weird to think about but Cherry was aware that Joe could give some very nice hugs. The kind of hugs that could have anyone melting and relaxing instantly. His face warmed slightly as he thought about the last time they had hugged. Joe had ended up in the hospital after a bad crash against Adam and Cherry had been yanked into a hug. He remembered the way Joe was shaking, they had thought he would have been immune to the way Adam locks people’s boards because of Joe’s size but apparently they had been wrong. Well sorta- their boards had locked together and Cherry had gone after them, but they had sped up too much and Joe had tried to yank away from Adam. It resulted in Adam letting go and turning away while Joe crashed since he hadn’t had enough time to properly turn. 

“Do you want to go for a ride around the lake?” Joe asked. Cherry wasn’t sure if Joe had noticed the way that Cherry had sank away into his thoughts, but either way the question cut through them and Cherry nodded.

“Yeah sure.” 

They left most of their stuff on the ground and grabbed their boards. Joe insisted that Cherry could keep the jacket for now and they began to skate around the lake. Cherry wasn’t sure why they hadn’t done this from the beginning. There was less bickering and at least they weren't awkwardly sitting on a blanket pretending to be a couple when they clearly… what were they? Cherry wasn’t even sure what to label them, at one point they had been friends. Surely they still were at least that. Friends. Friends that argue a lot. Friends that argue and fight a lot but still show up to the hospital for one another and check on one another and stay close to one another despite supposedly hating each other or being rivals or whatever it was that they had decided they were when at S. 

“People are going to think we are dating at S,” Cherry muttered mainly to himself. He hadn’t even meant to say it out loud. 

“I highly doubt they will. I think I heard some girls saying that I stole you from them.” 

“Really?” Cherry asked and rolled his eyes. He would never go out with any of the girls there. He pushed himself forward again so he wasn’t trailing behind Joe. 

“Seriously! Your fangirls were either pissed or very excited for us,” Joe laughed and pushed himself forward again. Cherry recognized a subtle shift in his stance and hurried after him. He was proven right when Joe tried to do a jump over a bag on the sidewalk but one of his wheels got caught and Cherry had to hurry next to him and bail off his board to press a hand to Joe’s shoulder to keep him from basically face planting on the sidewalk. 

“What the hell was that? I swear you are the least consistent with your jumps out of all of us,” Cherry rolled his eyes and went to go get Carla from the ditch. 

“The wind blew the bag up and caught the wheel, it isn’t my fault,” Joe defended and grabbed his own board. “Besides I’m only the least consistent because you have your machine, you were terrible with jumps until you switched boards,” Joe added. 

“Don’t call Carla a machine! Besides I wasn’t that bad with my jumps, and if Langa can have that crazy board of his then I don’t understand your problem with Carla,” Cherry huffed. 

“Well prove you are okay with your jumps, trade boards with me?” Joe suggested with a smirk. 

“You don’t have enough money to replace her,” Cherry said, he couldn’t believe he was even considering letting the gorilla’s grubby hands touch Carla. 

“I won't break your board,” Joe promised and offered his own board over.   
Cherry sighed softly as he carefully took Joe’s board before offering his own over. Joe’s board was a lot lighter than he was used to. 

“Let’s race back to the blanket,” Joe suggested eagerly. 

“Fine, just be careful with my board.” Cherry gave Joe his jacket back. They both got into a starting position and Cherry asked Carla to give a countdown for them before they both took off. They took off rather quickly, neither used to the others board but Cherry definitely was able to get used to Joe’s board faster. He hadn’t always had a board like Carla so it was just a matter of reminding himself of the weight difference and the fact that he was on his own in this race.

The race wasn’t even close. Cherry had stopped at the blanket and had time to look back and watch Joe skate over. 

“How in the world do you ride that?” Joe asked, panting heavily. The board was heavy and the wheels stuck out and it was exhausting. He certainly couldn’t pull off a jump on that. Cherry laughed which caused Joe to meet his gaze. 

“Carla gives very precise directions if you ask her, but I suppose the weight is something that you would have to get used to,” Cherry said and smiled slightly. He was always at least slightly content when he won, even if they weren’t racing for anything. He came over and put his foot on his board as he offered Joe’s back. Then Joe yanked the board away from Cherry causing him to stumble forward and Joe to plant a kiss on his cheek. 

“What the hell was that for you overgrown gorilla?” Cherry practically shrieked. His face had warmed and goosebumps covered his skin as a breeze blew over them again. 

“Happy Valentine's day Kaoru, thanks for being my date,” Joe said as happy as could be. 

Cherry couldn’t meet his eyes as he tried to think. This had been a date. That was becoming more and more obvious. It hadn’t just been a way for Joe to bother Cherry. The real question was, did Cherry want this to be a date? Cherry looked up and Joe was right there. He was always right there, whenever Cherry needed him. Cherry took his foot off Carla and took a step close before he grabbed Joe’s jackets with both his hands and pulled him down and into a kiss. A brief gentle kiss that they would probably both try and forget in the next few days, but it was their kiss. They could only have one first kiss together and this was it. Sorting everything else out came later. 

“Happy Valentines day Kojiro,” Kaoru whispered, having barely pulled away. 

Then they had their second kiss.


End file.
